Brassinosteroid Regulates Seed Size and Shape in Arabidopsis

Overview

Journal Plant Physiol

Specialty Physiology

Date 2013 Jun 18

PMID 23771896

Citations 116

Authors

Wen-Bo Jiang

Hui-Ya Huang

Yu-Wei Hu

Sheng-Wei Zhu

Zhi-Yong Wang

Wen-Hui Lin

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Seed development is important for agriculture productivity. We demonstrate that brassinosteroid (BR) plays crucial roles in determining the size, mass, and shape of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seeds. The seeds of the BR-deficient mutant de-etiolated2 (det2) are smaller and less elongated than those of wild-type plants due to a decreased seed cavity, reduced endosperm volume, and integument cell length. The det2 mutant also showed delay in embryo development, with reduction in both the size and number of embryo cells. Pollination of det2 flowers with wild-type pollen yielded seeds of normal size but still shortened shape, indicating that the BR produced by the zygotic embryo and endosperm is sufficient for increasing seed volume but not for seed elongation, which apparently requires BR produced from maternal tissues. BR activates expression of SHORT HYPOCOTYL UNDER BLUE1, MINISEED3, and HAIKU2, which are known positive regulators of seed size, but represses APETALA2 and AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR2, which are negative regulators of seed size. These genes are bound in vivo by the BR-activated transcription factor BRASSINAZOLE-RESISTANT1 (BZR1), and they are known to influence specific processes of integument, endosperm, and embryo development. Our results demonstrate that BR regulates seed size and seed shape by transcriptionally modulating specific seed developmental pathways.

Citing Articles

Evaluation of 3D seed structure and cellular traits in-situ using X-ray microscopy.

Griffiths M, Gautam B, Lebow C, Duncan K, Ding X, Handakumbura P Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):4532.

PMID: 39920283 PMC: 11806065. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-88482-7.

Hormonal regulation and crosstalk during early endosperm and seed coat development.

Pankaj R, Lima R, Figueiredo D Plant Reprod. 2024; 38(1):5.

PMID: 39724433 PMC: 11671439. DOI: 10.1007/s00497-024-00516-8.

Identification of the Brassinazole-Resistant () Gene Family in Wheat ( L.) and the Molecular Cloning and Functional Characterization of .

Zhang Y, Qin J, Hou J, Liu C, Geng S, Qin M Int J Mol Sci. 2024; 25(23).

PMID: 39684257 PMC: 11641346. DOI: 10.3390/ijms252312545.

Unlocking the Growth Potential of Poplar: A Novel Transcriptomic-Metabolomic Approach to Evaluating the Impact of Divergent Pruning Strategies.

Liu X, Cai K, Zhang Q, An W, Qu G, Jiang L Plants (Basel). 2024; 13(23).

PMID: 39683183 PMC: 11644339. DOI: 10.3390/plants13233391.

Seed coat-derived brassinosteroid signaling regulates endosperm development.

Lima R, Pankaj R, Ehlert S, Finger P, Frohlich A, Bayle V Nat Commun. 2024; 15(1):9352.

PMID: 39472566 PMC: 11522626. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53671-x.

References

Sun Y, Fan X, Cao D, Tang W, He K, Zhu J . Integration of brassinosteroid signal transduction with the transcription network for plant growth regulation in Arabidopsis. Dev Cell. 2010; 19(5):765-77. PMC: 3018842. DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2010.10.010. View

Wu C, Trieu A, Radhakrishnan P, Kwok S, Harris S, Zhang K . Brassinosteroids regulate grain filling in rice. Plant Cell. 2008; 20(8):2130-45. PMC: 2553602. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.107.055087. View

Takahashi N, Nakazawa M, Shibata K, Yokota T, Ishikawa A, Suzuki K . shk1-D, a dwarf Arabidopsis mutant caused by activation of the CYP72C1 gene, has altered brassinosteroid levels. Plant J. 2005; 42(1):13-22. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-313X.2005.02357.x. View

Pien S, Grossniklaus U . Polycomb group and trithorax group proteins in Arabidopsis. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2007; 1769(5-6):375-82. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbaexp.2007.01.010. View

Ohto M, Floyd S, Fischer R, Goldberg R, Harada J . Effects of APETALA2 on embryo, endosperm, and seed coat development determine seed size in Arabidopsis. Sex Plant Reprod. 2009; 22(4):277-89. PMC: 2796121. DOI: 10.1007/s00497-009-0116-1. View

Jofuku K, Omidyar P, Gee Z, Okamuro J . Control of seed mass and seed yield by the floral homeotic gene APETALA2. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005; 102(8):3117-22. PMC: 549499. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0409893102. View

Wang A, Garcia D, Zhang H, Feng K, Chaudhury A, Berger F . The VQ motif protein IKU1 regulates endosperm growth and seed size in Arabidopsis. Plant J. 2010; 63(4):670-9. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-313X.2010.04271.x. View

Deng Y, Dong H, Mu J, Ren B, Zheng B, Ji Z . Arabidopsis histidine kinase CKI1 acts upstream of histidine phosphotransfer proteins to regulate female gametophyte development and vegetative growth. Plant Cell. 2010; 22(4):1232-48. PMC: 2879746. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.108.065128. View

Huang H, Jiang W, Hu Y, Wu P, Zhu J, Liang W . BR signal influences Arabidopsis ovule and seed number through regulating related genes expression by BZR1. Mol Plant. 2012; 6(2):456-69. DOI: 10.1093/mp/sss070. View

10.

Zhou Y, Zhang X, Kang X, Zhao X, Zhang X, Ni M . SHORT HYPOCOTYL UNDER BLUE1 associates with MINISEED3 and HAIKU2 promoters in vivo to regulate Arabidopsis seed development. Plant Cell. 2009; 21(1):106-17. PMC: 2648090. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.108.064972. View

11.

Wang Z, Bai M, Oh E, Zhu J . Brassinosteroid signaling network and regulation of photomorphogenesis. Annu Rev Genet. 2012; 46:701-24. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-genet-102209-163450. View

12.

Gendron J, Liu J, Fan M, Bai M, Wenkel S, Springer P . Brassinosteroids regulate organ boundary formation in the shoot apical meristem of Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012; 109(51):21152-7. PMC: 3529081. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1210799110. View

13.

Bai M, Shang J, Oh E, Fan M, Bai Y, Zentella R . Brassinosteroid, gibberellin and phytochrome impinge on a common transcription module in Arabidopsis. Nat Cell Biol. 2012; 14(8):810-7. PMC: 3606816. DOI: 10.1038/ncb2546. View

14.

Yin Y, Wang Z, Mora-Garcia S, Li J, Yoshida S, Asami T . BES1 accumulates in the nucleus in response to brassinosteroids to regulate gene expression and promote stem elongation. Cell. 2002; 109(2):181-91. DOI: 10.1016/s0092-8674(02)00721-3. View

15.

Asami T, Mizutani M, Fujioka S, Goda H, Min Y, Shimada Y . Selective interaction of triazole derivatives with DWF4, a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase of the brassinosteroid biosynthetic pathway, correlates with brassinosteroid deficiency in planta. J Biol Chem. 2001; 276(28):25687-91. DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M103524200. View

16.

Schruff M, Spielman M, Tiwari S, Adams S, Fenby N, Scott R . The AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 2 gene of Arabidopsis links auxin signalling, cell division, and the size of seeds and other organs. Development. 2005; 133(2):251-61. DOI: 10.1242/dev.02194. View

17.

Riefler M, Novak O, Strnad M, Schmulling T . Arabidopsis cytokinin receptor mutants reveal functions in shoot growth, leaf senescence, seed size, germination, root development, and cytokinin metabolism. Plant Cell. 2005; 18(1):40-54. PMC: 1323483. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.105.037796. View

18.

Nomura T, Ueno M, Yamada Y, Takatsuto S, Takeuchi Y, Yokota T . Roles of brassinosteroids and related mRNAs in pea seed growth and germination. Plant Physiol. 2007; 143(4):1680-8. PMC: 1851827. DOI: 10.1104/pp.106.093096. View

19.

Luo M, Dennis E, Berger F, Peacock W, Chaudhury A . MINISEED3 (MINI3), a WRKY family gene, and HAIKU2 (IKU2), a leucine-rich repeat (LRR) KINASE gene, are regulators of seed size in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005; 102(48):17531-6. PMC: 1297679. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0508418102. View

20.

Kim T, Guan S, Sun Y, Deng Z, Tang W, Shang J . Brassinosteroid signal transduction from cell-surface receptor kinases to nuclear transcription factors. Nat Cell Biol. 2009; 11(10):1254-60. PMC: 2910619. DOI: 10.1038/ncb1970. View